underplay sth
多指故意淡化某事的重要性，常与 importance、role、achievement 等搭配。
The coach underplayed the team's chances of winning.
教练对球队获胜的机会轻描淡写。
扣住大牌打出小牌；出小牌留大牌
underplays — third person singular of underplay
以从属或较差的方式表演；未充分演绎角色。；使某事物显得不如实际重要；轻描淡写。；持高牌时打出低牌,以期日后获得优势。；表演不充分；扣着大牌不出而出小牌
play a card lower than a held high card
多用于纸牌游戏，如桥牌。
以从属或较差的方式表演；未充分演绎角色。
To play in a subordinate, or in an inferior manner; to underact a part.
使某事物显得不如实际重要；轻描淡写。
To make something seem less important than it really is.
持高牌时打出低牌,以期日后获得优势。
To play a low card when holding a high one, in the hope of a future advantage.
一般现在时
She tends to underplay her achievements.
她往往轻描淡写自己的成就。
一般过去时
He underplayed the seriousness of the problem.
他轻描淡写了问题的严重性。
现在进行时
They are underplaying the risks involved.
他们正在轻描淡写所涉及的风险。
规则动词；underplay 意为“轻描淡写、贬低重要性”。
She underplayed the ten, even though she held the king in the same suit.
尽管她同一花色中还握着K，她还是打出了十。
用法提示：underplayed 是 underplay 的过去式及物动词，表示扣住大牌打出小牌。
If you underplay your jack, you may be able to win the trick later with your ace.
如果你先打出J而扣住你的A，稍后你可能就能用A赢下这一墩。
用法提示：underplay 是动词原形，在条件句中表示打出小牌、扣住大牌。
Underplaying a low card is a useful way to save your higher cards.
打出小牌并扣住大牌是保留大牌的有效方法。
用法提示：underplaying 是动名词，作为主语说明这种打牌策略。
多指故意淡化某事的重要性，常与 importance、role、achievement 等搭配。
The coach underplayed the team's chances of winning.
教练对球队获胜的机会轻描淡写。
主要用于桥牌等牌戏，指打出小牌而保留手中更大的牌。
He underplayed his ace and won the trick.
他扣着A不出而出小牌，赢得了这一墩。
duck是桥牌等牌戏的常用术语，重在‘放弃赢墩’；underplay更强调握有大牌却出小牌，常见于一般语境。
play low是直白说法，只表示出小牌，不一定隐含‘手中留有大牌’；需要表达故意扣牌时，用underplay更准确。
grammar · medium
易错句子He underplayed about the seriousness of the issue.
正确表达He underplayed the seriousness of the issue.
underplay 是及物动词，直接接宾语，不需要介词 about；中文“对……轻描淡写”中的“对”不译为介词。
grammar · medium
易错句子They underplayed the cost of the project.
正确表达They underestimated the cost of the project.
要表达“低估（成本、程度等）”时，不能用 underplay；underplay 表示“淡化、轻描淡写”，而 underestimate 才表示“低估、估计不足”。
此处 underplay 取“轻描淡写、淡化处理”之义；overplay 是其直接反义，指把事情的重要性或情感表现得过度。
与“轻描淡写”相对，overstate 指“过度陈述、夸大”。注意 underplay 在牌戏中还有“扣住大牌出小牌”的专门含义，在此对照中不使用。
underplay 指在出牌或跟牌时故意扣住大牌、打出小牌；underlead 是桥牌专有术语，指领出时从握有高牌的一手牌中引出小牌。两者都表示“出小牌留大牌”，但 underlead 强调“领出”这一桥牌动作，且只用于桥牌语境。
轻描淡写某事的重要性
Don't underplay the importance of regular exercise.
不要轻描淡写经常锻炼的重要性。
轻描淡写某事的严重性
The company tried to underplay the seriousness of the data breach.
该公司试图轻描淡写这起数据泄露事件的严重性。
以克制的方式扮演角色
The actor chose to underplay the role for a more natural effect.
这位演员选择克制地扮演该角色，以求更自然的效果。
对自己的成就轻描淡写
She always underplays her achievements despite her success.
尽管她事业有成，却总对自己的成就轻描淡写。
扣住大牌打出小牌
He underplayed a low card, hoping to save his ace for the final trick.
他打出一张小牌，希望把王牌留到最后一轮。
前缀；相关词：underestimate, underachieve
词根；相关词：overplay, replay, downplay
隐藏实力；不露底牌
He chose to underplay his hand during the interview, so the panel didn't realize how much he knew.
他在面试中故意隐藏实力，所以评委没有意识到他懂得多少。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.